Education
The High Cost of Pa. K–12 Education Failures
Key Points The cost and risk of failure in our K–12 system is high. Low academic achievement is a predictor of lower lifetime incomes and higher costs for taxpayers. On…
Read More: The High Cost of Pa. K–12 Education FailuresPennsylvania’s future is in the hands of the next generation. Parents and students—not activist agendas—should drive the Commonwealth’s education policy. While policymakers have been entrusted with ensuring the next generation receives a quality education, parents should be empowered to choose the quality education that meets their unique child’s needs. Charter schools and tax credit scholarships are integral pieces of school choice, but more reforms are needed to make school choice a reality for all Pennsylvania students.
Education
“Mighty” Teachers’ Union Strikes Chicago
Some 25,000 members of the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) went on strike today, leaving 400,000 students out of school and parents scrambling to find safe places for their children to…
Media
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PSBA Chooses Scores Over Kids
Yesterday, Priya posted on how a Philadelphia area family faces criminal charges for trying to put their child in a better school, while demand for Pennsylvania’s new Opportunity Scholarship…
Media
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Is Caring for Your Kids Criminal?
Hamlet and Olesia Garcia are facing criminal charges in Montgomery County for enrolling their daughter in the suburban Lower Moreland Township school district when they appear to live in…
Media
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Public School Failures Leave Graduates Unemployable
William Marsh would like to hire a couple of good workers for his steel bar manufacturing company in Warminster, Pa. But he has a problem: He can’t find good…
Media
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Back to School Numbers
With kids returning to school this week, here are some fast facts about education spending and performance in Pennsylvania. $14,865: The amount Pennsylvania school districts spent per student in…
Media
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Opportunity Scholarships a “Choice for a Better Future”
This week, the Times-Herald of Montgomery County published my letter to the editor on underperforming schools and why Pennsylvania’s new opportunity scholarships matter: In “Norristown School…
Media
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Hundreds of Pa. Schools Taking Opportunity Scholarships
Since our last update on the new Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program, the Pa. Department of Education and Department of Community and Economic Development have compiled additional information…
Media
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Keep Tuition Affordable Legislative Package
Testimony of Nathan A. Benefield to Pennsylvania House State Government Committee, August 15, 2012 Good morning, my name is Nathan Benefield; I am the director of policy analysis for the…
Testimony
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PSEA Blows Smoke Over Political Spending
School board members at the West Chester Area School District are negotiating a new contract with teachers, and rightly questioning why the district deducts union dues from teachers’ paychecks, when…
Media
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Opportunity Scholarships Now Open for Business in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development issued new guidelines regarding the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program. Businesses can begin applying for tax credits on August 8.
Media
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Superintendent Shocked Students Splitting Skidding Schools
Across Pennsylvania, newspapers are telling the celebratory story of parents and students formerly stuck in failing and violent public schools who are taking immediate advantage of new opportunity scholarships that…
Media
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Cyber Schools Under Unfair Attack
Last week, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on Pennsylvania’s cyber schools advanced some common myths and omitted some critical facts about how these popular schools do academically, and how they are…
Media
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Who’s Eligible for PA Opportunity Scholarships?
Just weeks ago, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Corbett threw a major lifeline to thousands of children trapped in violent and failing public schools. Click…
Media
Read More: Who’s Eligible for PA Opportunity Scholarships?Education
Unable to Win, Union Bosses Try to Change Election Rules
My younger brother Matt and I often enjoy an intense pickup one-on-one basketball game. Being seven years older, I had the advantage for a long time. As kids, I was…
Media
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Taxpayers Benefit from School Choice
I had a letter to the editor in Friday’s edition of the Philadelphia Daily News on the benefits of the expansion of school choice in Pennsylvania for taxpayers…
Media
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Massive Strategic Victory for Kids
I've long been convinced that Thomas Jefferson was exactly right when he wrote, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never…
Commentary
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What School Choice Advocates are Saying about Pennsylvania’s “Massive School Choice Victory”
The fiscal year 2012-13 state budget increases the Educational Improvement Tax Credit by $25 million to $100 million and creates a new $50 million tax credit for Opportunity Scholarships—effectively doubling…
Media
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School Choice Expansion in Pennsylvania
The fiscal year 2012-13 state budget increases the Educational Improvement Tax Credit by $25 million to $100 million and creates a new $50 million tax credit for Opportunity Scholarships—effectively doubling…
Memo
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Auditor Errs On Charter School Funding
Auditor General Jack Wagner recently release a report criticizing charter school funding. Unfortunately, the report is riddled with errors. One key flaw is the argument that cyber schools get…
Media
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Child Rescue Plan Underway, EITC is Lifeline
As we come down to the wire in the Pennsylvania legislature’s 2012 session, the Senate revealed the latest details (subscription required) of how an expanded opportunity scholarship program would…
Media
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Temple Tuition Tamp-Down Shows Wake-Up Calls Work
During last year’s budget season, I was pretty critical of Temple University for raising tuition by ten percent while its administrators joined in the Chicken Little routine (“The sky…
Media
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